Japan radiation refugees to get more compensation

TOKYO: Japanese families who had to flee their homes because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster will receive additional compensation of up to US$3,700 per person, the embattled utility said Tuesday. The money, following earlier payments of US$12,300 per household, is meant to compensate the radiation refugees for their "mental suffering", Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said, according to the Kyodo News agency. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which is still struggling to control the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, estimates that the new round of payouts will total up to 48 billion yen (US$592 million), a spokesman said. The company will give the new payments to 160,000 people who have fled from a 30-kilometre (18.6 mile) radius around the plant, including a 20 kilometre legal no-go zone, and from other radiation hotspots further afield. The new payments take into account...